History of the Dsneyland Resort All-American College Band
Overview
The Disneyland Resort All-American College Band was founded in 1971. What began as a two-week program at Disneyland has turned into an 11 week program that has has had thousands of students experiences through the last five decades. The band originated at Disneyland and then a year later, in 1972, Walt Disney World Resort received its own college band. This band would continue on through the summer of 2000. The following year, a group of five college students returned as an ensemble for a one time offering. The band’s name was changed to Collegiate All-Star Band in 2008 before reverting back to its original name in 2002. At Disneyland, the band continued to perform every summer through the years, other than a brief break due to the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. In 2023 the Disneyland Resort All-American College Band again returned and celebrated its 50th season.
Leadership
The band has had different leaders through the years. The first director was Disney Legend Ron Logan. Logan was the founder of the Disney College Music Program. A professor at Long Beach City College, Logan came up with the idea of putting together a two-week pilot program where college-age student musicians would perform on Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland. This program would evolve into the All-American College Band program. Dr. Art Bartner of USC directed the band for three decades starting in 1974 before retiring in 2005. Following Dr. Bartner, Dr. Ron McCurdy took over the band and then continued to direct the band through 2017. Since then, the band has been led each year by a student band leader, formerly known as a TA. Behind the scenes, there is a team of Disney cast members that help guide the band. This includes a music director, show director, choreographers, stage managers, and many others.
Disneyland Resort All-American College Band Directors
- 1971 – Ron Logan
- 1974 – Dr. Art Bartner
- 2006 – Dr. Ron McCurdy
- 2018 – Nathan Hatton (Student Leader)
- 2019 – Will Nathman (Student Leader)
- 2022 – Glynnis McNamara (Student Leader)
The Walt Disney World All-American College Band included several directors through the years. This included Dr. Rick Goodstein and others.
Milestones
Through the years there have been some milestone moments for the Disneyland All-American College Band. The first major milestone was when Dr. Art Bartner celebrated leading the band for 25 years in 2003. Two years later, the band had a reunion as part of Disneyland’s 50th anniversary celebration.
In 2010 another reunion was held to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the band.
In 2015 the band again had a reunion to celebrate its 45th anniversary. The reunion was held on August 1, 2015. This special day included the 2015 Disneyland Resort All-American College Band and over 100 alumni from both the Disneyland and Walt Disney World versions of the band. It also had several special guest leaders. The reunion performance included:
- Uptown Funk – Dr. Ron McCurdy Directing
- Bubbles Was a Cheerleader – Dr. Art Bartner Directing
- Disney Movie Medley – Dr. Ron McCurdy Directing
- Earth, Wind & Fire Medley – Dr. Rick Goodstein Directing
- Under the Sea – Dr. Ron McCurdy Directing
- Goin’ Down the Bayou – Dr. Ron McCurdy Directing
The reunion ended with the band marching up the parade route and performing before exiting at it’s a small world.
Clinicians
Through the years there have been many guest clinicians that have come to work and perform with the college band. These clinicians generally spend a day or two with the band before performing with the band during its sit-down jazz set on their last day working with the band. The following artists have been clinicians with the band through the years:
- Sal Lozano
- Wayne Bergeron
- Jiggs Whigham
- Steve Houghton
- Gregg Field
- Ron Carter
- Rex Richardson
- Javon Jackson
- Rick Baptist
- John Clayton
- Mel Collins
- Duane Benjamin
Educational Focus
The Disneyland Resort All-American College Band is an educational experience. Throughout the course of the session, students in the band has an educational focus from one of the following categories:
- Composition and Arranging
- Careers in Music
- Recording and Production